The GirlsWhoLived
by Kittlyn
Summary: What if Harry Potter never existed? What if instead, two twin girls took his place? Follow the story, as you read about Brittany and Gemma Potter.
1. Chapter 1

The Girls-Who-Lived

By: Kittlyn

Twin girls yawned as they woke up to the morning light and a scream of "Get up!" from their so-called aunt, Petunia Dursley. She usually treated these two girls like her very own servants. Brittany and Gemma Potter were orphans who were reluctantly taken in when, about ten years before, an old man by the name of Albus Dumbledore placed the twins on the Dursleys' doorstep. Now they are forced to live with their only living relatives, Petunia, their uncle Vernon Dursley, and their whale of a cousin Dudley. For years, the Dursleys taunted, ignored, verbally abused, and once or twice, have hit these innocent girls.

Brittany and Gemma looked a lot alike in appearance, with their mother's green eyes and their father's jet-black hair, but were different in personality. Whereas Brittany was more of the bookish and follow-by-the-rules type, Gemma was the more outgoing of the two and would prank their cousin every chance she could without getting in trouble for it. Though the twins are well-behaved in general, their aunt and uncle would get onto them for the silliest things (like cooking the breakfast wrong, walking funny, looking at them wrong…etc.) and Vernon would shake with anger and lock them into a cupboard under the stairs they were to call their bedroom. The strangest thing about their appearance though, was a curious shaped scar on their forehead which was in the shape of a lightning bolt. Whenever they asked where they'd gotten it, their aunt had snapped, "In the car crash when your parents died. Don't ask questions."

Dudley always taunted them and made fun of them. He would beat up anyone who had showed any signs of wanting to be their friend. Though the girls were always put out by this, they never let Dudley see that and they reminded themselves they had each other.

Today happened to be their spoiled rotten, pig-of-a-cousin's birthday as they were reminded when they were steered into the kitchen to cook breakfast.

"Don't you dare let the bacon burn!" she snarled at the twins. Then her voice went softer. "I want everything perfect for Duddy's birthday!" She smiled lovingly at her son who came in a second before.

Brittany and Gemma rolled their eyes at each other and helped cook breakfast, without burning anything might I add. The girls set the table and each snuck a piece of bacon without anyone noticing. The Dursleys didn't want them eating as much as they do, since they believed the twins to be inferior to them. If Albus Dumbledore could see them now… he would never forgive himself.

Thirty minutes later the phone rang. RING! RING!

Aunt Petunia ran to answer to it which was in the hallway. Everybody could hear her say "Hello?" The twins drowned out the rest of what she was saying.

About 3 minutes later, she came back into the kitchen with a grim expression her face. "We have a problem, Vernon."

"What is it, Pet?" he asked, frowning.

"Mrs. Figg has broken her leg and she can't take _them_," she jerked her head toward Brittany and Gemma. They always talked about them that way, as if they weren't in the room.

Uncle Vernon swore and said, "What are we supposed to do now?"

"We could leave them with your sister, Marge," suggested Petunia, desperately.

"You know she hates the twins," Vernon replied, exasperated. "What about your friend, um… Yvonne?"

"On holiday in Majorca," Petunia snapped.

"You could just leave us here," Brittany tried. Gemma's face lit up hopefully, though she tried to hide it. They could watch television or get on Dudley's computer for once.

"And find the house in ruins?" Aunt Petunia growled. "I don't think so."

"We won't blow up the house," said Gemma, indignant. Brittany frowned and rolled her eyes at her aunt.

The Dursleys ignored her and Petunia continued, "Well, I suppose we could take them with us to the zoo and leave them in the car…"

"I won't have them sitting in it alone, it's new. . . ."

Dudley began to wail like a baby and loudly. Not really cry, it's been a few years since he really cried. He learned if he scrunched his face and wailed, Petunia would get him anything he wanted.

"Mummy won't let them spoil your special day, Duddekins," she hollered, hugging her son tightly.

Dudley whined about how he didn't want the twins to come and that they're ruining his day. He smirked evilly at his cousins through his mother's arms. Brittany and Gemma's faces both read 'Idiot.'

The doorbell rang then. Once every year on Dudley's birthday, he was allowed to have a friend over and they'd bring Dudley somewhere special like an amusement park or a hamburger restaurant. They'd leave the twins at Mrs. Figg's house which smelled of cabbage and cats. This year his friend, Piers Polkiss, was coming with them who, when around the neighborhood with Dudley, usually held a kid's arms behind their backs while Dudley beat them up. Dudley immediately stopped pretending to cry and ushered after his mother towards the door.

"Welcome," Aunt Petunia was saying as she ushered in Piers and waved good-bye to his mother reassuring her they'll have him back later.

"Girls," Vernon bit out harshly, like speaking of them was dirty. "It's time to go."

They all hurried out the door and to Vernon's new company car, but not before the twins were pulled aside.

"Any funny business while we're there and there'll be no meals for a week, you got me?" Uncle Vernon snarled at the two siblings. What Vernon was talking about was that strange things often happened around Gemma and Brittany and it was blamed on them always. They don't how or why these things happened, they just do.

Once, Petunia had taken a pair of scissors and cut their hair 'till it was about an inch above their ears. It was an extremely ugly haircut and Petunia had made some bangs to "hide those horrible scars." Their hair was uneven and crooked and was just so boyish-looking. The twins spent a restless night thinking of school the next day, where they were already laughed at for their faded, baggy clothes and Brittany's huge glasses. The next morning, they found their hair the way it was before their aunt tried to hack it off, straight, long and flowing like the black sea. They'd been given a week in their cupboard for this, even though the twins tried to explain that they _couldn't_ explain how it had grown back so quickly.

Another time, Petunia had tried to get them to wear repulsive old sweaters of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls). Every time she tried to pull it farther down their heads, it seemed to get smaller until finally it could only have fitted a puppet, but would not fit Gemma and Brittany.

Then, they'd gotten into huge trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. The girls in Dudley's gang had been chasing them as usual when, to everyone's surprise including the twins', they were suddenly on the chimney. Their so-called family had received an angry letter from their headmistress telling them about Brittany's and Gemma's little adventures. But all they'd tried to do (as Gemma defended them through the locked door of their cupboard by shouting) was jump behind the trash cans outside the kitchen doors. The girls, well Gemma did, supposed that the wind must have caught them in mid-jump.

"Yes, sir," the girls had replied together, happy that they were going at all. They then got into the car, the twins squeezing in beside their cousin and Piers.

Uncle Vernon started complaining about motorcycles when they spotted one on the road. Some of his favorite subjects were the twins, people at work, the council and the bank to complain about.

They arrived at the zoo and Vernon and Petunia bought the boys both ice creams. They'd tried to hurry away so they wouldn't have to buy the twins any. The ice cream lady caught sight of the girls and asked them nicely, before their aunt and uncle could hurry them away, "What would you girls like?" So Petunia bought them each cheap lemon ice pops. Surprisingly it was pretty good.

All in all, they had a pretty good morning but stayed slightly behind the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers wouldn not fall back on their favorite game of Teasing the Potters when they started to get bored by lunchtime. The family plus one ate at the zoo restaurant and when Dudley complained that his knickerbockers glory didn't have enough ice cream, the twins were allowed to finish it off after Vernon bought his son another one.

The twins felt they should've known it was all too good to last.

After they ate, the family and Piers went to visit the Reptile House. It was dark and there were a fair few snakes and lizards amongst other reptiles. The boys wanted to see the huge, poisonous cobras and man-crushing pythons. And of course, Dudley found the biggest one of all. It could've wrapped itself twice around Vernon's car, but as it was asleep they doubted it would do anything at the moment.

Dudley like a moron, the twins thought, pressed his nose against the glass and stared at the glistering brown coils.

"Make it move," Dudley whined like a little boy, so unmanly-like. Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake would not budge. The twins rolled their eyes at their family. The girls' cousin asked his father to do it again and again the snake would not move. Dudley whined about being bored and left to see other snakes along with Piers, Vernon, and Petunia.

The girls stayed where they were and Brittany spoke up, "You must get that all the time." She was thinking how his situation was worse than theirs where they actually get to visit the rest of the house and their only visitor was their Aunt Petunia. Gemma was about to make a comment about how her sister was going crazy talking to snakes when all of a sudden the snake raised his head and _nodded_. Then it _winked _at the two sisters. The girls' jaws dropped and then Brittany snapped out of it. She winked back.

The girls asked together, "You can understand us?" The snake nodded.

Brittany then said, "It must be really annoying." Again the snake nodded and she continued, "So… Where are you…"

She stopped when her sister finished for her, "from, anyway?" The snake seemed to look amused for a second and then jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. The girls peered at it.

Boa constrictor, Brazil. Gemma was about to ask if it was nice there when her sister nudged her and they read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh," said Gemma.

"DUDLEY, MR. DURSLEY, YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT THIS SNAKE IS DOING!" Piers suddenly yelled behind them. On the way back to the giant snake, Dudley knocked the twins over and they fell hard on the concrete.

Hurt, the girls glared up at their cousin and with immense shock, they watched Dudley and Piers fall into the tank where the glass had been. Still staring, they watched the snake slither out of it, hissing on his way out the door, "Brazil here I come…Thanksss, amigos."

Even more shocking, the boys got up to get out of the tank and was stopped by the glass that had been missing a few seconds earlier. The girls looked at each other and started to giggle.

When the Dursleys, Piers and the twins had gotten home Uncle Vernon sent Dudley's friend home wrapped up in a blanket. Alone at last, Uncle Vernon turned to the Potter twins and grounded out, "Go – cupboard – stay – no meals," before he fell into a chair. Aunt Petunia ran and got him a brandy. Gemma and Brittany rolled their eyes, but did what they were told.

The Potters were lying in their darkened cupboard a lot later, wishing they had a watch. Gemma wasn't too sure if the Dursleys were asleep yet and Brittany didn't want to risk getting caught sneaking to the kitchen for food.

The twins had lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten almost unbearable years, for as long as they could remember, ever since they'd been a baby and their parents had died in that car crash. The girls couldn't remember actually being in the car when their parents had died. But sometimes if they thought hard enough they could remember something strange: a blinding flash of green light and a burst of pain on their forehead. They supposed this was the crash but they didn't know where all the green light could've come from. Brittany and Gemma couldn't remember their parents at all. Their aunt and uncle never EVER spoke about them, and of course they were forbidden to ask any questions. There was absolutely no pictures of them in the house.

When the Potters were younger, they hoped that some unknown relation would come and rescue them. But it hadn't happened: the Dursleys (eek) were their only family, unfortunately. Yet sometimes, the girls would run into strangers that seemed to know them, or so they thought. And very strange strangers, they were too. A man with a violet top hat and bowed to them once in a shop while doing some shopping with their Aunt Petunia and Dudley. The family then abruptly left without buying anything after Aunt Petunia asked the twins if they knew the man. Then they'd run into a young girl about their age who had cotton candy colored blue hair and yellow eyes. The girls could've sworn the girl had changed her eye color to green. A subtle change but they noticed it. When they were walking away, the twins watched as the girl's mother chastised her for something. The weirdest thing about all these people was when they disappeared after the twins tried to look at them again.

Brittany and Gemma had no one but themselves at school. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated those odd Potter twins in their faded baggy clothes and identical broken glasses, and nobody, not one, liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Brittany Alice and Gemma Lillian Potter's longest-ever punishment. By the time they were actually let out, school was over and the summer had begun. Their fat cousin had already broken his video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, his first time out riding his racing bike, knocked down Mrs. Figg, the neighbor down the street, when she was crossing Privet Drive.

The twins were particularly glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley and his gang's bullying as his friends were over at the house every single day. His friends were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and the stupidest, he was the leader. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favorite sport: Bully the Potters. Of course, Gemma and Brittany would fight back and Dudley wouldn't able to retaliate because he was afraid of 'Mummy' finding out that he was fighting. It wouldn't matter though because Petunia Dursley did not care at all what her son did and would deny vehemently anything that was accused of her baby boy.

This was why the girls usually hung out outside, walking down streets, and going to the neighborhood park. While outside they could talk about when the summer ended and they wouldn't have to go to the same school as Dudley for the first time in forever.


End file.
